1. In 1827, the first permanent Euro-American settlement in what is now Kansas was established near the present-day town of Lecompton by a party of traders led by Joseph Marie Bourassa.

2. On March 4, 1859, the Wyandotte Constitution was signed in Wyandotte, Kansas. This constitution established Kansas as a free state and paved the way for its admission to the Union on January 29, 1861.

3. On March 4, 1861, Kansas became the 34th state of the United States. It was the first state to enter the Union as a free state, a distinction that reflected the fierce struggle over slavery that had taken place in the territory prior to statehood.

4. Kansas played a key role in the fight for civil rights. On March 4, 1952, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education, which challenged the legality of racial segregation in public schools. The case was brought by a group of African American parents in Topeka, Kansas, whose children were denied admission to white schools.

5. In 1960, Wichita, Kansas became the site of the first successful test flight of the Learjet, a revolutionary new type of business jet that was faster and more efficient than any other aircraft of its time. The Learjet went on to become one of the most popular and recognizable private jets in the world, and helped to establish Wichita as a key center of the aviation industry.